Info for bf's son - Chaplain info Reserves vs Guard

December 15th, 2011, 05:23 PM

Hi guys! I wanted to get some information for my boyfriend's son. He is 16 and will be joining next year. He wants to go in as a Chaplain's Assistant and eventually become a Chaplain. He spoke to some recruiters yesterday at the career fair at his school and he came out under the impression that the best route for him and the schooling he wants is The Reserves. Won't he get MORE educational benefits through The Guard because he gets state AND federal educational benefits? He also wants Air Assault and Airborne. How likely are these if he goes in as a Chaplain's Assistant? Which is better for getting those options in his initial contract - Reserves or Guard? Any information that you can relay to me especially about The Chaplain Assistant/Chaplain route as well as the major educational benefit differences would be great.

Of course I am partial to the guard but I am trying to give him concrete reasons. Apparently the people representing The Army National Guard at the job fair did not give him a good impression. He can't judge the Guard as a whoke just on the actions of a few...

1. Yes, the Guard gets all the educational benefits the USAR gets, plus whatever each individual State throws in (which often doubles the total).
2. He's unlikely to get any scare-me schools as a chaplain's assistant, simply because the nature of his duties won't leverage the training as much as it would for others.
3. Please note that chaplain's assistant isn't a path to chaplain, any more than nurse is a path to doctor. He's welcome to do it, but he can pursue chaplaincy from any MOS. I would recommend that he serve enlisted in a combat arms MOS, because that experience will give him far better insight into the mind of a Soldier when he becomes a chaplain. It will also buy him some instant credibility when working with those Soldiers, particularly if he can earn a scare-me badge during that timeframe.

1. Yes, the Guard gets all the educational benefits the USAR gets, plus whatever each individual State throws in (which often doubles the total).
2. He's unlikely to get any scare-me schools as a chaplain's assistant, simply because the nature of his duties won't leverage the training as much as it would for others.
3. Please note that chaplain's assistant isn't a path to chaplain, any more than nurse is a path to doctor. He's welcome to do it, but he can pursue chaplaincy from any MOS. I would recommend that he serve enlisted in a combat arms MOS, because that experience will give him far better insight into the mind of a Soldier when he becomes a chaplain. It will also buy him some instant credibility when working with those Soldiers, particularly if he can earn a scare-me badge during that timeframe.

Thank you so much. That makes complete sense and I just relayed that info. I think he was thinking about CA while he gets all his college done that way he could get an understanding of the workings of what the Chaplain does. But, what you said makes perfect sense especially since he wants the specialty schools. He talked about the infantry for years but then fell in love with religious studies and the idea of becoming a chaplain. He already has it school plans laid out.

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Thank you so much. That makes complete sense and I just relayed that info. I think he was thinking about CA while he gets all his college done that way he could get an understanding of the workings of what the Chaplain does. But, what you said makes perfect sense especially since he wants the specialty schools. He talked about the infantry for years but then fell in love with religious studies and the idea of becoming a chaplain. He already has it school plans laid out.

CA ARNG is not particularly great in regards to educational benefits when compared to other states with "tuition waiver".

CA could also refer to Civil Affairs as well also as the state of California.

This was actually my first thought but then I made the assumption that the poster was not getting ahead of herself and thought it meant the state of CA.

As for ASI (additional skill identifier) courses, it depends on your state and MOS/CMF. But the state should prioritize it based on the needs of its mission and personnel. There's a good chance that a Chaplain's Assistant would never need Ranger School, Airborne, etc.

Your best chance of getting these courses is if you branch/enlist combat arms.

Sorry for the confusion I assumed bcz I already said he wanted to go in as a Chaplain's Assistant that when I wrote CA it would pertain to that. I read some other posts and they abbreviated it that way so sorry about that.

Great info guys thank you. I am passing everything on to him.

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During my deployment, I have to say our Battalion's "CA" (we call him the Alter Boy as a joke) is quite busy. He's more or less, the Chaplain's body guard when he's not doing assistant duties. Our Chaplain travels all over our Area of Operations in Afghanistan, and does a whole lot more than just religious services for the FOBs/COPs we're on. He also includes himself in the shuras, on missions, foot patrols, and also our memorial services for those we've lost over here. The CA is by his side all the time. As a matter of fact, the CA has seen quite a lot of action while being over here.
The CA also conducts private counseling if someone needs some religious guidance or just a friendly face to talk to. He's also the gopher when the Chaplain is not around but something needs to be done by their group. Which may include being a representative for the Chaplain, getting their next flight to the next FOB figured out, posting bulletins for religious services, and handling religious material for the Companys in our Battalion. I've seen him pretty worn out many nights, but he's also one of the most positive people I've ever met in my life.